Bradley Collier / VYPE Media
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The Houston Christian Mustangs celebrate their first SPC championship
Photo provided by Head Coach AJ Eisenman
At this time last year, the Houston Christian football program had already set a new precedent by making their debut at the SPC-3A state championship, where they narrowly fell 30-27 to Trinity Valley in a double-overtime heart-breaker.
Fast forward to this past weekend and the Mustangs were back in the Final, playing against none other than Trinity Valley.
In what ended up being a battle of the defenses, head coach AJ Eisenman and company would dish out some poetic justice by defeating the Trojans 21-12 on Saturday.
"For one thing in our league, they (Trinity Valley) matched up with us size-wise," said Eisenman. "The strength of our team has been our line on both sides of the ball, which definitely came into play. They had some big guys, and a great running back (Ben Ngishu). But we buckled down, and our defense played really well -- limited them to just two scores in the game.
"It was really just about us doing what we do. You get to that point as a coach where you don't want to over-do it. You just want to trust in what these guys have been working on all year long, put them in the best position to make plays, and that's how it played out."
Offensively, the Mustangs were without one of their star athletes, Greg Guidry (Sr. RB/DB), who suffered a shoulder injury in the week prior.
However, Eisenman gave plenty of credit to a number of individuals who stepped up when it mattered most -- Mac Barrow (Sr. LB/RB), newcomer Noah Chang (Sr. CB), and the team's two quarterbacks, Ron Reis (Sr.) and RJ Evans (So.) among them.
Their re-tooling of the offense, particularly with new packages, placed a higher emphasis on the passing game -- allowing senior receivers Bennett Mallory, Kirby Orth, and Anderson Jones to play bigger roles -- which proved to be a determining factor in the match-up.
More so than a "revenge game", though, this critical victory marked Houston Christian's first state title since the school was founded in 1998.
Naturally, the weight of the moment was not lost on Eisenman.
"It's always fun when you can come back and redeem yourself," he said. "The same thing we've been talking about last season -- it's been a long time coming. It was a win on the back of culture that's been built up for so long. Our mantra, again, was 'Stand Strong', and at the end of the day, we were the one left standing.
"This achievement was extremely validating for me, my staff, the young men on the field, and everyone involved. A lot of the times you're told to compartmentalize your faith, but we did the exact opposite. We leaned into it. When you come at it from that angle, it's twice as rewarding."
The Southwest Preparatory Conference is sure to dole out plenty of All-SPC selections towards Houston Christian in the near future.
But for now, the Mustangs can finally revel in the prize they've been seeking for the past two decades.
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There is so much fun to be had at a VYPE Media Days!
From team and individual pictures, social media shout-outs and video interviews, it is all there for the student-athletes to feel like a superstar.
Our team traveled to Second Baptist School for their 2024 Winter Media Day recently. Check out the behind-the-scenes hype video below!
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Coach Shaun Stephens is in his first year at St. Pius X after coming over from the Heights High School.
Up next is an Away game against Savio for the St. Pius X Panthers. VYPE's Matt Malatesta caught up with Coach and a few players mid-week as they prepare for this week's contest!
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